Vagabonds RUFC also known as simply Vagabonds or by their nickname Vagas is a

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

club located in

Douglas, Isle of Man Douglas ( gv, Doolish, ) is the capital and largest town of the Isle of Man, with a population of 26,677 (2021). It is located at the mouth of the River Douglas, and on a sweeping bay of . The River Douglas forms part of the town's harbour ...

. They are affiliated with the English

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

with their Men's Team currently playing in the South Lancs/Cheshire 3 division and the Ladies team playing in North West 1.

Club history

Vagabonds was established in 1965 as Douglas High School Old Boys by school master John Timson, and was made up of current and former players from the Douglas High School rugby team. Soon, the name Vagabonds was adopted (see below). In October 1980, the club moved to a site on Glencrutchery Road, adjacent to the famous TT Grandstand. 31 years later in 2011, the club moved to its current site at Ballafletcher, where the club has a modern clubhouse, changing facilities and two pitches. The 2015/16 season was the Vagabonds 50th Anniversary season

Honours

* North-West West 3 champions: 1989–90 * North-West West 2 champions: 1990–91 *

North West 2 North West 2 was an English Rugby Union league which was at the eighth tier of the domestic competition and was available to teams in North West England. Promoted teams moved up to North West 1 while relegated teams dropped to North West 3. T ...

champions: 1995–96

Origin of the name

When the club was formed, it was forced to train and play on the rugby pitches nearby because it had no grounds of its own. These pitches were then owned by

Douglas Rugby Club Douglas Rugby Club (also referred to as DRUFC) are a rugby union club based in Douglas on the Isle of Man. The club has two senior sides and age-range teams encompassing both mini and junior rugby. The men's 1st XV currently play in Regional Two ...

(and still are to this day). Due to this lack of a home, the name 'Vagabonds' was soon adopted. Also, due to the sharing of a pitch for many years, a fierce rivalry now exists between Douglas Rugby Club and Vagabonds. Since 2019, the second XV have been known as the "Hornets" due to the black and gold striped kits they wear.

Team colours

The traditional club colours are black, white and gold. The Men's and Ladies' kit consists of a white jersey with a gold band across the chest along with the club crest and sponsor, black shorts and black and gold striped socks. The Hornets kit is a black and gold striped design. The current principal sponsors of Vagabonds are Sure, Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and Tower Insurance Company Ltd. The Hornets kit is sponsored by Colebourn.

External links

Official Website
Rugby union in the Isle of Man Rugby union teams in the Isle of Man Rugby clubs established in 1965 1965 establishments in the Isle of Man {{Rugbyunion-team-stub

Club history

Honours

Origin of the name

Team colours

See also

External links